Caption: Close-up of an orchid, Maxillaria rufescens, from the rainforest of north western Ecuador. Ecuador has more than 2,400 species of orchids, and probably has more species per unit land area than any other country. This photo was taken in the Los Cedros Reserve, between 1,200 and 2,000 metres elevation, on the western slopes of the Andes. This is part of the most biologically diverse forest in the world. The high plant diversity is thought to be due to the heterogenous terrain of slopes and ridges which, by geological standards, have been uplifted fairly recently. Speciation is thought to occur very rapidly, taking as little as 15 years in some genera.